Wood Caldwell: New baseball stadium extends downtown development into North Nashville

Dec. 24, 2013

Written by

Wood Caldwell

For The Tennessean

As most are aware, the Metro Council passed legislation earlier this month that approved construction of a new ballpark for the Nashville Sounds on a Germantown site that formerly was the home of Nashville’s first minor league baseball park, Sulphur Dell. Dubbed “Baseball’s Most Historic Park,” Sulphur Dell opened in 1870 and in 1885 became home of Nashville’s first professional baseball team, the Americans.

Before the ballpark was demolished in 1969, it was home to the Negro League Elite Giants and Southern League Americans, Seraphs, Tigers and Vols.

In 1963, the last summer the Vols played, I can remember going to Sulphur Dell to watch the Vols on Knothole Night, the night where about a hundred 9- to 12-year-old members of the Knothole little league descended on the stadium.

I played for the Haury & Smith team in the Green Hills League. Our entire team was invited to watch the game, which included Myles Maillie, Russ Wingo, Fred Fisher and my brother, Robley Caldwell — all of whom went on to have outstanding Nashville high school sports careers. Myles also became a well-known Nashville artist. (Please excuse me for dropping names.)

Bringing baseball back to North Nashville caps off reinvestment in the area that was started by Mayor Phil Bredesen with the Bicentennial Capitol Mall project of the 1990s.

Metro Finance Director Rich Riebeling recently called the Sulphur Dell deal “one of the most exciting things this administration’s been able to accomplish,” and I’m inclined to agree. With this investment, Mayor Karl Dean has once again increased Nashvillians’ quality of life. By bridging downtown and Germantown, North Nashville can join the reinvigorated ranks of East Nashville, SoBro and the Gulch, adding a much-needed vibrancy and tax base to the neighborhood.

Revenue generator

The 10,000-capacity ballpark will require a $65 million public investment up front and is projected to bring in $1.4 million annually in property taxes once the privately funded multifamily developments from the Sounds ownership and Embrey Development are completed. The new stadium is also expected to generate $650,000 in sales tax annually.

The Sounds’ and Embrey’s combined $87 million expected investment is only a fraction of the private support and growth that will pepper the area. For example, Holladay Properties and Ronnie Wenzler, developers of the BowTruss Building just north of the stadium., converted the previous industrial space into compelling office space in 2013, and it is leasing up rapidly.

Located between Jackson and Harrison streets between Third and Fifth avenues, the new stadium at Sulphur Dell is also important to restore the history of the area, specifically Jefferson Street, which used to be a thriving business and music district. Artists from Jimi Hendrix to Duke Ellington performed there, but commercial investment largely died off when Interstate 40 was built, bisecting Jefferson Street and cutting off local traffic.

With construction beginning in early 2014 and the stadium set to open in April 2015, I’m looking forward to witnessing another generation of little leaguers enjoying baseball in Sulphur Dell.

Wood Caldwell is managing principal of Southeast Venture, a diversified commercial real estate company. He writes about Middle Tennessee real estate deals once a month for The Tennessean. Reach him at wcaldwell@southeastventure.com.